The most common recruiting questions that I get from real estate owners and general managers usually involve the topic of interviewing.  More specifically, everyone wants to know if their hiring managers are interviewing effectively…and if not, how improvements can be made.

As you know, effective interviewing is critical to the hiring process.  While our company encourages the use of assessment technology early in the hiring process, many factors important for assessing a candidate can only begin to be captured by sitting down with a person in a face-to-face meeting.

At this point, there are many great practices and research-based methodologies for making the most of an interview.  However, even the best techniques will produce poor results if they are not built upon an appropriate understanding of people.

John Sumser, a recruiting consultant that I’ve referenced several times in WorkPuzzle, wrote a very insightful article on this topic.  He makes the simple point that if you treat candidates like objects or transactions, you’ve short-circuited the recruiting process before it has even begun.

“At the heart of good recruiting…is the mastery of relationship management.  Relationships are hard to develop in volume and many people take statistical shortcuts in processes that develop relationships based on the luck of the draw.

The reason that direct marketing techniques generally have a bad name is that they tend to treat people like objects as a precursor to a deeper form of relationship.  The message in this approach is 'If I can figure out what value you bring to me, I will invest in a deeper relationship.'

No good relationship begins with the proposition that it will depend on my understanding of the value I’ll get.  They begin with the question 'What value can I give?'  They start with the notion that the 'objects of our desire' are people first.  When they are 'objects' first, the very beginning of the relationship is sowed with the seeds of its ultimate failure.

In situations that require people to sift through volumes of potential relationships, the tendency to objectify feels like a quick shortcut to successful completion of the task… Remembering that each resume represents the desires, hopes and aspirations (and sometimes desperation) of a person is a nearly superhuman task that requires the constant availability of forgiveness, a sense of humor and a willingness to see beyond the data.  It is tremendously hard to keep this perspective fresh and foremost, particularly in a reactive environment.

But, it is the process of evolving and maturing relationships, that characterizes real sales or recruiting effectiveness.  It’s a process that can be supported but never automated because it involves the feelings of the person doing the recruiting or selling.

…All of the sourcing and record keeping programs in the world won’t begin to compensate for a recruiting process that treats potential candidates as objects.  To the extent that current systems perpetuate the myth that data constitutes a relationship, they are major contributors to the problem.”

Treating candidates with a “relationship-based” framework is a high calling—it is not an easy thing to do.  Seeing the candidates you interview as human beings first requires patience, compassion, and a sincere desire to want the best for those you engage.  Self-interest is a powerful motivator for all of us, but it can be crippling if you’re a short-term thinker or have a transactional mindset.

Please understand, I’m not suggesting that you run a charity or abandon your focus on results.  Quite the opposite.  Our highest performing clients understand and build upon this principle of sincerity much better than those who struggle to meet their recruiting and performance goals.  There is really no way to be successful (in the long-term) if you build upon a deficient foundation. 

Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.